Hi, Chester County! 👋
A two-home, three-parcel property spanning 27 acres is for sale in Willistown Township. We take a look. Also this week, a new future for Rock Hill Farm is on the table, West Chester puts limits on new smoke shops, plus East Whiteland residents could expand the township’s board of supervisors.
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A sprawling three-property Willistown compound is for sale for nearly $9M
Three Willistown Township properties that span a combined 27 acres and have two homes with their own pools are being privately listed for sale.
Known as Sugartown Springs Farm, the properties include a 7,559-square-foot, four-bedroom main house that dates back to the mid-1700s. It has an in-ground pool and a pond.
Another home, this one with six bedrooms and spanning over 6,000 square feet, also has its own pool. Elsewhere on the property, there’s a two-story timber-frame barn with a glass atrium that was once used as an art gallery for Andrew Wyeth’s paintings.
A new ‘best-case scenario’ proposal for Rock Hill Farm
A larger swath of Rock Hill Farm could be preserved under a potential new deal between Willistown Township and the developer looking to build luxury homes on a portion of the 222-acre property.
A proposed settlement agreement between the parties could see upward of 75% of the land put under a conservation easement, while decreasing the number of residential subdivisions, something one township supervisor called a “good ‘best-case scenario.’”
The Inquirer’s Brooke Schultz fleshes out the details.
📍 Countywide News
- The first phase of SEPTA’s bus network overhaul began Sunday, impacting 30 routes, including along the Lancaster Avenue corridor. Now sure how it affects you? Check out The Inquirer’s interactive map.
- Chester County reported 41 measles cases recently, the second-highest number in the state since an outbreak began this spring.
- Chester County Solid Waste Authority is hosting a household hazardous waste event in Oxford this Saturday. Advanced registration is required.
- August may be coming to a close, but roadwork projects throughout the county aren’t. Here’s the latest on detours and delays.
💡 Community News
- West Chester will now require conditional use approval for smoke and vape shops to open in the town center after a council vote last week.
- Amid concerns over East Whiteland Township’s handling of a proposed data center project, residents have successfully collected enough signatures to add a measure to the November ballot, when they’ll decide if they want to expand their board of supervisors.
- Six Coatesville men involved in a revenge plot that left one of their friends dead have been sentenced to state prison.
- West Nile virus-positive mosquitoes were found at Cedar Hollow, Strafford, and Wilson Farm Parks this month in Tredyffrin Township.
- The National Weather Service confirmed a tornado touched down in Downingtown during last Thursday’s storm, traveling a short distance along Quarry Road.
- A developer’s plans to build a small-scale data center at the Shoppes at Coventry got pushback at Monday night’s meeting, when North Coventry supervisors voted to oppose it. The shopping center’s owner is seeking a special exception to allow for the nearly 86,000-square-foot center to move ahead, the Daily Local News reports.
- Lincoln University is suing Lower Oxford Township for what it says is an unconstitutional and racially discriminatory event ordinance that unfairly targets the historically Black school. The township passed the ordinance nearly a year after a shooting during the school’s homecoming left one person dead and several others injured.
- Fantasy-themed bookstore Leaves & Lore opened in West Chester on Saturday, and so many people showed up and made purchases that the owners had to close early on Sunday.
- It was a tough week for West Chester’s East Side Little League, which lost its opening game and a closely contested follow-up elimination game in the Little League World Series. But making it to Williamsport was still “a dream come true” for members of the team, who also got to hang with pros during the MLB Classic.
- A new 42-townhome community could be coming to the former Burger King site at 410 S. High St. after West Chester’s borough council gave preliminary approval for a proposed development there.
- Friday is the last day for public comment regarding the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed cleanup plan of the former National Vulcanized Fiber site. Despite community pushback, Kennett Square’s council is considering allowing housing and business development on the 22-acre parcel once it’s remediated.
- Women’s boutique Stile by Per Lei is opening its newest location today at Gateway Shopping Center in Wayne.
🏫 Schools Briefing
- Coatesville Area School District is partnering with Union Community Care to open the county’s first school-based community health center, which will offer year-round care, including physicals, medication management, and vaccines.
- A handful of local football players, including from Malvern Prep, and Coatesville Area Senior, Downingtown East, and Owen J. Roberts High Schools, are among the ones to watch this season, according to coaches, scouts, and recruiting services.
- Several Chester County schools earned high marks in the latest U.S. News & World Report rankings of the best public high schools in Pennsylvania. Downingtown STEM Academy took the top spot in the county, ranking second in the state, followed by Unionville High School (No. 10), Conestoga High School (No. 13), and Great Valley High School (No. 23). Downingtown STEM also ranked highly nationally, taking the No. 19 spot.
🍽️ On our Plate
- West Chester Cooperative has opened at 204 W. Market St., marking the latest new grocery store in the region.
- Victory Brewing has again teamed up with Longwood Gardens for its citrus shandy, a 5.5% ABV beer with notes of grapefruit and kumquat, available at the Kennett Square mainstay and in Victory taprooms.
- The second season of HBO series Task has been filming throughout the region this summer, including in West Grove, where Mark Ruffalo and other cast and crew members visited Twelves Grill and Cafe.
🎳 Things to Do
🍺 West Chester TAPS: Today is the last installment of the borough-wide happy hour for the season. ⏰ Wednesday, Aug. 26, 5-7 p.m. 💵 Pay as you go 📍 Throughout West Chester
📚 Literary Festival: This inaugural event includes a ticketed community book exchange, local authors, vendors, crafts, and food trucks. ⏰ Saturday, Aug. 29, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. 💵 Pay as you go, $17.85 for the book exchange 📍 Downingtown Vintage
🪕 Roots and Blues Fest: The Cris Jacobs Band headlines this third annual show. ⏰ Saturday, Aug. 29, 11 a.m. 💵 $40 in advance, $50 at the door, free for kids 12 and under 📍 Anson B. Nixon Park, Kennett Square
🎶 Yesterday’s Gone: This Fleetwood Mac tribute will take place outdoors on a rooftop. ⏰ Saturday, Aug. 29, 7-9 p.m. 💵 $22 for children, $30 for adults 📍 Kennett parking garage roof
🏡 On the Market
A Birchrunville home with hidden themed rooms and a tree house-inspired porch
This four-bedroom Spring City home has an airy open-concept living area, complete with vaulted ceilings and walls of windows overlooking nature. But its living quarters set it apart — literally. A first floor primary suite is accessed via its own raised bridge, while there are two themed rooms downstairs, complete with a grotto. They’re located behind a hidden doorway and through a secret passage off a living area with a second kitchen. A fourth bedroom, a suite, is upstairs, along with office space. Out back, there’s a tree house-inspired porch off the deck. There’s an open house tomorrow from 5 to 7 p.m.
See more photos of the property here.
Price: $1.2M | Size: 6,154 SF | Acreage: 3.03
🗞️ What other Chester County residents are reading this week:
- Some of Philly’s oldest restaurants are closing or changing hands. What’s going on?
- WHYY’s ‘Fresh Air’ host Terry Gross is at the center of catfish-style scams targeting stars and media personalities
- Stoop ball, Tastykake, and climbing ‘Billy’: The Bacon brothers talk about their Philadelphia childhood
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